


Ready to be found

by Princeyssash



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Canon Era, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Trans Male Character, Trans Racetrack Higgins, im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25207339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princeyssash/pseuds/Princeyssash
Summary: Race was a romantic at heart. Growing up a newsie, he always hoped to find his soulmate one day.
Relationships: One Sided - Relationship, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	Ready to be found

Race grew up a romantic at heart. People didn’t assume he was such a romantic, but he was. The idea that he would one day find his soulmate made his heart flutter and brought a smile to his face. He couldn’t wait until he met them. He would know who they were when they first touched each other. For most people that first touch was a handshake, but it didn’t have to be.   
Of course, he knew that even when you were soulmates life isn't always perfect. He saw the way his father crashed after his mother passed away, saw him turn to drink and saw him give up on life without her. Two months after his mother passed away Race was on the street, an orphan at age 12, left behind to fend for himself.   
He was lucky. Jack found him after only one night of sleeping tucked away in the furthest corner in an alley. He introduced himself as Antonio for the first time and Jack helped him cut his hair and taught him the ways of being a newsie. 

A few years later he was still a newsie and Jack’s second in command. He had wrapped his chest with bandages for the first time and started selling over in Brooklyn when he was 14 because too many people in Manhattan recognized him from when he was younger. He couldn’t stand them calling him his old name and lady. He was a boy, not a lady and his name was Antonio. 

At 17 he had seen multiple of his fellow newsies find their soulmate. His best friend Albert found Finch when Finch joined the newsies of Lower Manhattan at age 15. Smalls found her soulmate in the boy who worked in the little corner shop next to Jacobi’s. It seemed a lot of the newsies found their soulmate already, but he was still alone. At least he had Jack, who also hadn’t found his soulmate yet.   
He still sold at the Sheepshead with permission of Brooklyn’s leader, Spot Conlon. He’d seen Spot a number of times over the years but he tended to avoid the harbour where he knew Spot sold. He’d spoken to him once, a few days after he started selling at the Sheepshead, when Spot wanted to know what a ‘Hattan was doing on his turf. One look and a short conversation later and Spot had said he could sell at the races as long as he didn’t sell anywhere else in Brooklyn. So Race bought his papers at the distribution centre in Manhattan every morning and made the walk over to Brooklyn. 

Until the strike happened. He watched as Jack shook Davey’s hand and watched as the two of them laughed and hugged each other. Behind them, Oscar scoffed and said some not very nice words, but scowled and turned away as soon as he had over twenty angry boys glaring at him. 

When Jack disappeared two days later so did Davey, and Race had to step up as second in command. He was terrified. He and Jack were only one year apart in age and he hadn’t expected to ever have to take over from Jack before both of them aged out of being newsies, but there he was. Jack was gone, and so were Crutchie and Davey, and the boys turned to him for guidance. Race put Albert and Finch in charge of getting the younger newsies in bed while he visited Brooklyn, or more specifically Spot.   
The entire walk to Brooklyn he was tempted to turn around and tell his, Jack’s, newsies that the strike was off, but he had to stay strong. They couldn’t survive the rise in the price and he didn’t want any of his siblings to end up on the street. So he bit back his hesitation and stormed into the Brooklyn lodging house demanding to see Spot.   
“Spot! We’s need Brooklyn!” he shouted before he even saw the other boy. “We’s goin’ ta lose if you’se not joining us!”   
“Wow, calm down, Racer.” Spot came walking down the stairs and stood in front of him, close but not touching. Then Spot saw his eye. “What happened to your eye?”  
“The bulls got us! They beat us and now Crutchie is in the refuge and Jack’s gone and Davey’s disappeared as well and I’m looking after all these kiddos and-”   
“Don’t forget to breathe, Race.” Spot gestured for him to follow. “Let’s sit and you’se can tell me what’s goin’ on.”   
Race took a deep breath and nodded, following Spot out to the fire escape where they sat down.   
“So what’s goin’ on?”  
“You’s knows about the strike, right?” Race waited for Spot to nod before he continued. “So we’se on strike and we’se at the distribution centre to stop them other newsies and then the bulls showed up and they’s start beatin’ us and we’s try to fight back but there was too many of ‘em. We lose so we’s try ta run but they’s got Crutchie. Crutchie, Spot. He’s strong but with ‘is leg he’s never going ta get out of the refuge. And then we’se at the lodging house and Jack’s just gone. So Davey realises Jack’s gone and he leaves too! An’ now I’m trying ta take care of a bunch’a kids and we’s still on strike! We needs your help.”   
“We’s going ta help you. T’morrow you’se can count on Brooklyn.” Spot nodded decisively.  
Race could hug him, and he almost did, but Spot still kind of scared him so he didn’t. He grinned at Spot.   
“You’se the best, thank you’s Spot.” Spot nodded again and Race took that as a dismissal. “Well, I’se better get back to Manhattan. Got all them kids to look after now and all.” He stood up and waved before climbing down the fire escape on his way back to Manhattan. 

A few days later Race stood in newsies square with all his fellow newsies and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They won. They actually won. He didn’t think they would come this far but as he looked around him at all these faces, familiar and unfamiliar, he realised that they really did win. He cheered along with all his newsie siblings.   
As he looked around to see if he saw any of his friends in the crowd, he saw Spot.   
“Spot!” Race runs up to the other boy, who stopped walking when he heard his name being called. “Spot! Thank you’se! We’d never have won without Brooklyn!”   
He reached the other boy and decided to just throw away his fear of him and give him a hug. And so he did. He closed his eyes and put his arms around Spot. He could feel Spot tense underneath him so he squeezed tightly for a second, mumbled another thank you, and let Spot go again.   
That’s when he opened his eyes again. And saw the most beautiful colour he had ever seen in Spot’s eyes. He scanned Spot’s face, from his chocolate brown eyes down his nose and cheeks which were covered in freckles to his lips, a reddish-pink. He looked down at his own clothes, registering the colours in them and looked at Spot’s clothes, contrasting colours to his own. He looked around him at a new world of colour that was developing right in front of his eyes. He gasped.   
“Do you see that?” He whispered to Spot, a smile on his face as he looked at Spot. His soulmate.   
“See what?”   
Race’s smile fell from his face.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry.
> 
> P.s. Natasja please don't kill me I know you're angry xD


End file.
